Kevin Cheng Reigns as Top TVB Earner at $250,000 Per Episode
Mainland China has become the land of opportunity for TVB artists to strike it rich! A new generation of TVB millionaires have emerged, with TV King, Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎) leading the crowd! It was reported that Kevin Cheng earned $250,000 Yuan per television episode!
At the Shanghai TV Festival the day before, past and present TVB artists, Kevin Cheng, Charmaine Sheh (馬浚偉), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Steven Ma (馬浚偉), Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華), Moses Chan (陳豪 ), and Ada Choi (蔡少芬) attended to promote their respective new television dramas.
TVB Millionaires
In recent years, numerous TVB artists have successfully crossed over to the mainland China market. Last year’s TV King and Queen, Kevin Cheng and Myolie Wu, have forged financially lucrative careers in China. As a result, they spent the bulk of the year filming in China and flying back to Hong Kong only for promotional event appearances.
Prioritizing “gold mining” opportunities in China, Kate Tsui (徐子珊) and Bosco Wong have dropped out of Triumph in the Skies 2 <衝上雲霄II>. Kate will be filming a mainland drama in July, clashing with the filming start date of Triumph in the Skies 2.
Known for their professional and hard work ethics, TVB artists were highly sought after by mainland television producers. Kevin Cheng was currently the most popular TVB actor in mainland China, earning $250,000 Yuan per television episode! However, comparable mainland actors of the same caliber were earning $400,000 Yuan! This made TVB artists a good value in comparison.
Other TVB artists’ salaries have been exposed. Ada Choi allegedly earned $200,000 Yuan, while Bosco Wong raked $190,000 Yuan per television episode. Myolie Wu reportedly earned $130,000 to $140,000 Yuan per episode, in which her market value increased after winning last year’s TVB TV Queen title.
Veteran artists Bobby Au Yeung and Steven Ma allegedly earned $120,000 per episode. Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯) commanded $150,000 per episode even for a cameo role in mainland productions.
Virginia Lok Supports “Gold Mining” in China
TVB executive, Virginia Lok (樂易玲), supported the company’s artists to enter the mainland market in order to increase their recognition levels, improve their acting skills, and earn higher incomes.
Regarding the loss of numerous production staff and artists to rival television stations in recent months, Ms. Lok did not feel threatened by the competition. She said, “TVB is made of iron! The soldiers flow like water.”
Ms. Lok indicated that the artists who have left TVB were not the best artists. The most popular actors and actresses remained at TVB. However, Ms. Lok may have forgotten that with the mainland China market an increasing draw, TVB’s best artists may not always be available when they were needed.
Source: Ming Pao
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Jayne: Congrats to Kevin Cheng! At the start of the year, he was rumored to earn $160,000 Yuan, which has now ballooned to $250,000 Yuan. Working for TVB still pays off!
Although working for TVB is tough, it gives you the exposure.
But hasn’t the report always emphasised this is how much he is getting? BBJX really really helped! Not TVB though.
I am surprised by Bosco though. What series he did which became hit in China?
Lives of Omission.
I’m serious. For your info, Michael Tse and Fala Chen have received some mainland awards too for their characters.
I was thinking the same thing. At least Kevin has tv king award and bbjx success to justify his price. Is Bosco really worth that rate? Hmm… maybe the China bosses saw his nude pics f/ the tabloids and liked what they saw.
Never knew Lives On Omission so famous in China. China has so many awards ceremony, and each ceremony has so many different types of award for typically the same thing (Most popular, Most voted, Most read about, best actor, best intergalactic actor, whatever) they give new meaning to dividing the pork.
Funn,
“best intergalactic actor”
Oh my..while I know about the N numbers of “awards” in mainland China, seriously ^ this? hahaha…
Just an example. But I swear a single award ceremony for let’s say actor acting award can be
– most popular actor in Weibo
– most popular actor in youtube
– most popular actor in tudou
– most popular actor in youku
– most popular actor in China
– most popular actor in asia
– most popular actor in the internet
– most popular actor in the world
– most popular actor in the galaxy
– most popular actor in the universe
– most popular actor in intergalactic universal galaxy
That sort. And interestingly not one actor is repeated in each N number of category. So an actor can be most popular in internet BUT may not be most popular in youtube. You can be most popular in the galaxy BUT not in the world.
How they calculate the votes would be shadier than TVB voting itself. But it all translates to popularity award and since everyone gets a piece, no one complains.
And so many award ceremony. Act in one very popular TV series and there, for 2 years, circulate around award ceremonies. Imagine the clothing budget.
I agree and Kevin is earning that much and popular now because of BBJX or whatever he did in China, not really because of TVB.
Bosco has said that his character in “Bread Tree Girl” is a new challenge for him. (It’s a young man in depression and falling in and out of love). This can be one of the reasons why he opted for “Bread Tree Girl”(besides the lucrative offer), though it is unknown how much weight the actors have in choosing a project vs TBB management.
This will be the first time Kate accepts a mainland drama. I’m looking forward for her new challenge. I like Kate and I always think she can do more than just TBB dramas.
Miss Lok has also mentioned that she is taking the exit of some stars from Triumoh In The Skies as the way the new generation of TBB artistes to step up.
There are a lot of leads in the sequel. Missing 1 or 2 artist(s) will not hurt. Not to mention, Bosco and Kate weren’t the “selling” factor.
Bosco and Kate not around will give Ma Ming, Myolie and others bigger screentime so I’m happy Bosco and Kate are out. They are NOT NEEDED. Just go away.
FYI, Kenneth, Myolie, Ron, Rebecca are also extras. The main selling point is Francis and Chilam. You’re just jealous Bosco and Kate have got better opportunities.
I am also surprised that Bosco gets paid more than Myolie in China, even though she won TVB actress award last year.
…sexist!
Yeah, as if TVB award is a measure of popularity IN China …
I was think that same thing too! i mean he did like 1 drama in china….while myolie did like 4 recently! & him earning that much more than her, does seem sexist. :/ i really like myolie, charmaine is just blah.
defitnitely working for TVB is a pay off! love the photo of kevin above, he looks so proud lolz
i wonder how much roger kwok gets
…get wat? Milk powder? He’s no time for acting now. Most of the time slots he has are being spent to milk his baby.
How come Charmaine Sheh’s name was not included in the remuneration schedule? She should make good money, too, at least the same as Ada Choi, if not better
The remuneration schedule is just rumored only…they don’t reveal the exact fees to media. So the media only guesses. For example, Yuan producer confirmed paying Charmaine 8 figure sum (so it had to be at least RMB10 million) and the series have 50 episodes.. so they (media) just divide the sum to speculate the RMB200k per episode fee. However, Charmaine didn’t appear in all 50 episodes, so her fees in Yuan would have exceeded 200k per episode, by logic. She already state that her fees varies according to the production, so some production may pay higher or some negotiate lower. Same will apply to Ada, sometimes she will be paid higher sometime less than this reported ‘value’. No absolute.
So it doesn’t matter how much they earn, as long as they are happy with it.
Jayne:
I think that too much focus was made on the money issue (how much an artiste makes in filming an episode, how much they spend on news cars, how much they got for posing for photos, etc.). I always saw some figures mentioned in your articles.
Because money is the basis of how demand the actor is.
Not really because the china’s producers want cheap labour and that’s why they hire actors and actresses from TVB instead of theirs. After all, business is still business. I believe that if all the TVB actors/actresses demand the same wages as the china’s actors/actresses, the china’s producer won’t hire them anymore.
Tavia is the cheapest, but she only get one offer and that one is actually a replay for her yiu Kam Ling. Says a lot about one’s demand 🙂
Let’s face it, monetary values is “that important”.
Sandcherry,
“I think that too much focus was made on the money issue (how much an artiste makes in filming an episode, how much they spend on news cars, how much they got for posing for photos, etc.). I always saw some figures mentioned in your articles.”
The HK tabloids often report this, so I thought it might be interesting for fans to know their favorite actor’s market value. Money and sex are endless fascinations for many people lah. I have curiosity over the matters, but market value is established by many factors and may not necessarily correlate to acting abilities.
Do you find the overabundance of price tags as a negative thing? Such as how much they spent on a car or house?
Also, I like to write with more specific details when allowed. So instead of saying, “She bought an expensive car,” I prefer to write, “She bought a $930,000 HKD car.” Descriptive adjectives are sometimes relative and may mean different things, so if there is a price tag, the reader can decide whether it is truly expensive or not.
Are the figures above correct. Some sites referring to the same news states that Kevin Cheng makes 25K RMB per episode.
From what mentioned by Mainland producers/directors/co-actors, they admired TVB actors/actress for their discipline. They arrive on time, study their script and doesn’t have a big hordes of assistance fussing around them. All these trained fro TVB nightmarish indoor/outdoor 4-6 schedule (4 am end work, 6am start work again)
lol.. sehseh i totally agree wth u..
I’m surprised that Kevin Cheng is the top TVB earner in china. How about Charmaine? Oohh.. Raymond Lam used to earn that much few years ago but seem like he is no longer popular & name not even mentioned in the news.. Boo!
Anyway, Good for Kevin Cheng.. He’s my favourite!!
Kevin did very well in Bubujingxin. He deserves the top spot of TVB earners. Happ for Kevin.
Because LF dun go to Shanghai TV festival this time but go for a concert in Canada instead. Last year when he went to Shanghai TV festival, there was news to say that he is paid 200k RMB/eps (250k HKD/eps) for the China series Ad Mania :P. Let’s see how much he is paid for the upcoming China series.
Yes, that’s right, LF did come over to Toronto for a concert 2 nights ago and it was simply AWESOME!!!! Loved his singing and dancing and he’s simply HOT! Can’t wait until he comes again!
I remember Kevin was highly promoted until he received criticisms for winning BA in 2006. After a while, Ms. Lok kind of dropped him, which I believe gives him the opportunity to film in China.
When you’re not currently needed/promoted at TVB, you have more opportunities outside. Bosco and Kate have been demoted in recent years. So, pulling them out of TITS2 is no big deal for TVB.
Hannah,
I like what Ruco Chan had once said, “Opportunities are for people who are well prepared.”
Kevin Cheng admitted himself that he felt uncomfortable in receiving the TVB Best Actor in 2006. He felt that did not deserve it. But if TVB had wished to give it to him to promote him, he had no option except to accept it. In 2011, Kevin finally won the audience and critics’ praise when he won multiple awards in Asia. So last year, he had the right opportunities and he was prepared well for them. Thus his success today.
Glad TVB are promoting Ma ming and Ruco a lot now and demote Bosco, Kate and Linda. Ma Ming and Ruco will become successful like Kevin too soon :).
Actually I’m glad Bosco and Kate out of Triumph in the skies. It will give Ma Ming, Myolie and others who deserve the screentime more.
Hehe, but Bosco and Kate have other chances to do other stuffs that might help them to get to higher positions in the showbiz. I’m taking about movie and China series :P.
So their missing in TITS2 can be a good chance for them to get out of “TVB artists” status. You know that in HK being a TVB artist has its own disadvantages.
Ma Ming said he actually got a mainland series but TVB don’t allow him to go and make money.
Then? Ma Ming is still with TITS 2.
Why didn’t they allow Kenneth to go? I think it is so messed up of TVB to allow so many others to go and film in Mainland to rake in the bucks but will not allow Kenneth to go. That is just not fair…
@HTS: Each year there are many invitations from China media companies to Txb artists. TVB will see first if it’s suitable for the schedule or the plans of this artist this year or not. The artist and his/her manager also have to consider the chance, too. There are many reasons to refuse.
TVB should not make TITS 2. That project is a mess from day one.
@Fox,
Oh ok, thanks for the info and I thought about that too. I guess the timing is not right for Kenneth to film in China yet. He just has to be patient I guess.
@HTS: Uhm, that’s all our assumption. What really happened, only MM, MM’s manager and TVB can answer. Actually when everybody go to China, it can be a good opportunity for someone to get the fame. Going out might be a disaster instead of a good chance.
@fox,
Oh yea, that is true. Going to China can be good or bad since artists are taking their chances when they do venture outside of TVB. I guess it is like double or nothing.
Can anyone tell me how many Hawick Lau is paid per ep? And LF, Ron, Fala?
LF was rumoured to be paid 200000 RMB/eps (250000 HKD) last year. Hawick was paid 140000 RMB for his series with Rain Li 2 years ago. Ron was paid 70000 RMB/eps for his series Great Maid 3 years ago. Fala dun noe.
Thanks Fox.
But do u know how many this year?
No idea :P. There isn’t any rumour or confirmation.
That is unfair. How does Bosco manage to get paid more than Myolie? Bosco has only had “Racecourse” aired on CCTV with Myolie, but that series wasn’t even that popular. Myolie had both Happy Mother in Law and Beauty Scheme. Both series were popular Yu Zheng series.
All of her series’ views on tudou combined: 487,441,219
All of Bosco’s serise’ views on tudou combined: 393,550,771
Sadly life is unfair in many aspects as we all know.
i guess Bosco just lucky
If I remember correctly Myolie’s role in Beauty Scheme was pretty minor. I think just because you are in a popular series does not mean that you will become successful along with it, especially if you are not one of the leads.
Despite being a minor role, her pairing with Feng Shao Feng was pretty popular. Even though she was only a cameo, her role was pretty major. She was part of the Lu(royal) family.
Also, she was featured alot in the drama’s promotions despite her small role. Therefore, her role in Beauty Scheme gave her a lot of exposure in the mainland before she moved on to leading roles.
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/static/images/7/79/MeiRenXinJi.jpg
Uhm but Myolie-FSF’s pair was pretty liked.
That’s why they should pair them up again.
It’s certainly amazing that in what seems just a short time Kevin’s earnings have sky-rocketed and what a contrast to the lean days in Taiwan when he had to depend on his Mum to keep him from starving. That’s history now and when he finds time to spare he can begin to enjoy the fruits of his labour. All the best to him!